Praktica Nova 1 + CZ Jena Tessar 2.8/50

[Alan Johnson]

<p>Can old East German gear deliver? My test. Exposure was generally 1/60 f9.5 on 100 T-Max.</p>

<p>All images are of Cambridge England. First the Mathematical Bridge on the river Cam:</p><div></div>

[Alan Johnson]

<p>Trinity College was the home of the mathematician Newton:</p><div></div>

[Alan Johnson]

<p>Kings College is probably the most magnificent College but not the oldest.</p><div></div>

[Alan Johnson]

<p>Finally Clare College and Kings College across the river Cam.</p>

<p>I made a print from this negative and I think the CZ Jena Tessar is a pretty good lens stopped down like this.</p>

<p>Any views on old East German gear?</p><div></div>

[chuck_foreman1]

I think you'll find many folks here sympathetic to such gear! I myself have some of the cousins Exakta, Exa, and Contax FM (M42). Great pictures of a great historical institution!<div></div>

[ken_ibbs]

<p>I was an impoverished (but happy!) undergraduate at Clare College, '69-'72. I took similar pictures along The Backs using a Practica PL Nova 1 with 50mm Tessar. I also had a 30mm Meyer Lydith preset which was excellent for architectural interiors( I was very keen on steam pumping stations back then) In the UK many people bought Practica as their first SLR. I was perfectly happy with the camera, though I remember rather intrusive fresnel lines on the focus screen. Sadly I tripped, and wound on only to discover that the mirror had shattered - jammed solid. Trusty Campkins on King's Parade gave a repair estimate and I just left it there (in those days their windows were crammed with cameras featured on this forum ) I managed for a year or to with a Ricoh 500G and a Bessa 11, then the Olympus OM1 came out, I invested and I still use it 36 years later.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Alan, while the Nova 1 is not my favourite Praktica, you've certainly demonstrated that the old East German gear<em> does</em> deliver. Great lens, the Tessar, almost a benchmark in it's era, and these photographs show your copy is still performing well. Very nice full-toned pics, great shadow detail from the T-Max, and the subject matter is iconic. Thanks for a fine post.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>The more DDR gear, the better!</p>

<p>The nova is certainly not my favorite either, but you put it to good use. Britain and the Netherlands were two places where VEB Pentacon continued to hold on to a reasonable market share right up to the end.</p>

<p>The Tessar is a very decent lens of considerable heritage.</p>

<p>Here is a Praktica PL Nova 1B with some appropriate Marxist literature.</p><div></div>

[mfophotos]

<p>LOL. I think he was known as Commo...</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Those are beautiful shots, Alan.</p>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>Lovely pictures Alan! I have a few Prakticas in the Nova series, as well. They are excellent performers. The mechanism is very well made. I bought some recently, almost DOA! But with some cleaning and lubrication they were back in action working smoothly with perfect shutter timing. Thanks for the post. sp</p>

[ralf_j.]

<p>SP - Interesting approach, you do not find many people to think so highly of a NOVA. I have stayed away from them based on feedback read here and in Matanle's slr book. Now your comments and the series masterfully demonstrated here by Alan, have certainly piqued my interest. Maybe I will just get one for the heck of it.</p>

[rod_larson]

<p>Great pictures Alan. I have an Exakta VX with a CZ Jena Tessar on it and it produces some<br>

mighty fine images.</p>

<p>Rod</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>Good work, Alan. Those CZ Tessars do a great job, especially stopped down a bit. I've been using a Praktica FX-2 with CZ Jena Tessar that I found in storage. It basically sat unused for at least 25 years. After cleaning up the camera and lens, both work fine.</p>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>Ralf! You could not go very wrong with that. A Nova series camera is available for less than about BP 3 in UK, often for 99 Pence. possibly would cost more in the US. In my mind I thank all those who berate the Prakticas; thanks to them I could buy a few and make them work too, learning a lot in the process. However, recently, I noticed that the DDR lenses are being quoted for pretty high prices. Regards, sp</p>

[Alan Johnson]

<p>Forgot to mention 1/60 f9.5 ISO 100 was using a yellow filter, the sunny f16 rule for the cautious who like shadow detail.</p>

<p>Another discovery (to me at least) is that the Nova is the only one of my Prakticas that will work with my Japanese Mamiya Sekor 1.8 55mm.The Sekor has an extra pin on the back that catches on the flange round the camera thread on my later Prakticas.On the Nova 1 it just scrapes the prism housing but works.</p>

<p>One of these days I will get into serious trouble bottom fishing M42 gear.</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>Alan lovely stuff, thanks for posting. The shot "Clare College and Kings College" is so timeless, it could easily be from an old postcard. Have you ever tried punting? It's much harder than it looks!</p>

[paul_eustace]

<p>Excellent photos! I too am a big fan of the earlier Prakticas. I've got a IVFB (for me, the best screen, and I like the way that a partial depression of the shutter release will lift the mirror, prior to actually tripping the shutter with a full depression of the release.........reduces the chance of mirror vibration?), Prakticamat (the faster shutter speed can be useful) and Super TL (which tends to get the most use, due to easier replacement should it get damaged "in the field"). I try to stick with DDR lenses, and the combination just seems to give great pictures. It's great to see that other people think similarly!</p>